Nucleation and Growth of Lithium Peroxide in the Li-O-2 Battery

Lau, Sampson; Archer, Lynden A.

Type

Article

Authors

Lau, Sampson
Archer, Lynden A.

KAUST Grant Number

KUS-C1-018-02

Date

2015

Permanent link to this record

http://hdl.handle.net/10754/673068

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Abstract

We study the relationship between Li<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf> morphology and the electrochemical performance of the Li-O<inf>2</inf> battery using a combination of experiment and theory. Experimental Li-O<inf>2</inf> battery discharge curves are accurately captured by a theoretical model in which electrode performance is limited by the nucleation and growth of discrete Li<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf> nanostructures in the cathode. We further show that the characteristic sharp voltage drop widely reported at the end of discharge results from the decrease in electrochemical surface area as Li<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf> covers the cathode surface. Preventing surface nucleation is highlighted as a core strategy for increasing Li-O<inf>2</inf> battery capacity.

Citation

Lau, S., & Archer, L. A. (2015). Nucleation and Growth of Lithium Peroxide in the Li–O2 Battery. Nano Letters, 15(9), 5995–6002. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02149

Sponsors

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation Program (Grant No. IIP-1237622) and by Award No. KUS-C1-018-02, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). S.L. acknowledges support from the Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) Program. This work made use of the Cornell Center for Materials Research Shared Facilities which are supported through the NSF MRSEC program (Grant No. DMR-1120296).